WRHS alum helps catch Maine killer

Walter Grzyb being filmed for Tru-TV's program "Suburban Mysteries" about the Bridgton, Maine murder. BRIDGTON, ME - On May 12, 1994, Crystal Perry was viciously murdered in her home in Bridgton, Maine.

The case went unsolved for more than 12 years while investigators from the Maine State Police and the Bridgton Police Department spent thousands of hours working on it. Workers from the Crime Lab also spent hundreds of hours analyzing evidence to try and figure out who killed Crystal.

Walter Grzyb, an officer with the Maine State Police, got involved in the case in 1997 when he was promoted to detective.

The former Princeton resident and 1985 graduate of Wachusett Regional High School understood how important it was to the town and Perry's family that Crystal's killer be found.

The case was especially tragic because Perry's 12-year-old daughter Sarah was home when the crime occurred. Sarah woke from a sound sleep when she heard a thudding sound and then her mother screaming "No, no, no!" Then silence.

After finding her mother's body in a pool of blood, Sarah ran down the street to a neighbor's house for help.

According to Grzyb, Sarah didn't recognize the assailant's voice, there was no indication of forced entry, but there were blood drops on the steps and on the inside of the glass on the door. Perry had been stabbed 50 times with lacerations on her face and chest.

Forensic evidence determined Perry had been sexually assaulted and traces of blood from another person were found on her.

"That indicated to me the killer must have been injured," said Grzyb. "After I studied the case I hypothesized that the perpetrator cut his right hand during the attack and I expected to find evidence of that when a suspect was identified. A distinct profile of viciousness emerged, marking it a crime of passion and indicating she most likely knew her attacker."

Residents in the small community of Bridgton were shocked. It was the first murder in more than 30 years. Solving the case became a personal obsession for long-time police chief Robert Bell, but without a description he was starting from scratch.

Obvious suspects included Crystal's exhusband, who claimed he was drinking with his girlfriend that night. That alibi was verified.

Residents in the town were uneasy, as everyone was a suspect and hundreds of people were interviewed, said Grzyb. Perry's boyfriend, known for his foul temper and jealous streak, didn't have an alibi, but was cleared of suspicion when his DNA didn't match the blood found at the scene.

For years the case limped along and Bell retired without solving the crime.

"I always had the foreign blood on my mind," said Grzyb. "I thought that blood came from a laceration on the killer when the knife slipped and he cut himself. I was looking for a killer with a scar on his hand."

Scrutinizing the file he came across an individual who had worked as a local handyman. He had expressed an interest in Crystal and may have been rebuffed by her.

"As first it seemed like a perfect fit, but within seconds of talking with him I knew it wasn't him," said Grzyb. "There was no DNA match so we came to another dead end."

Police checked into a rumor about the exhusband's new girlfriend who didn't like Crystal, but that lead didn't pan out either.

Twelve years after Crystal's murder the case still weighed on Officer Gryzb's mind. He knew if he could find a DNA match to the blood drops, he'd find the killer.

One day Grzyb was sitting in his office when the phone rang at a nearby desk.

"Another detective assigned to the case took the call and I could tell from his voice that something big was happening," said Grzyb. "He told me that the Crime Lab just had a DNA hit on the Crystal Perry case. Michael Hutchinson was in jail in Portland on a bail violation for an underlying conviction for criminal threatening."

Hutchinson was a resident of Bridgton when Crystal was killed and lived within walking distance, Gryzb said. He'd violated his probation and his probation officer had been having trouble finding him.

"The police department in Bridgton heard Hutchinson was getting married so they waited for him. He got married, but on the way to the reception they arrested him," said Grzyb.

A few days later, Grzyb visited Hutchinson in jail and listened to him deny ever knowing Perry or being at her home.

"But blood on her leg and on the floor all matched his DNA profile. During the interview I had the opportunity to look down and saw a scar on the palm of his hand. He got very quiet and he then said he wanted an attorney," said Grzyb.

"During the trial he changed his story and stated he did know Crystal and was at her house the night she was killed and had consensual sex with her. He claimed an unidentified man came into the house and attacked them both. At trial, crime scene experts demonstrated that not only was his version of events impossible, they demonstrated through physical evidence, the blood pattern, and the DNA that Michael Hutchinson raped and stabbed Crystal over 50 times. They were also able to show that no one else was in the crime scene during or after the attack."

Hutchinson, who was 19 at the time of the murder, was found guilty of the murder of Crystal Perry and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Grzyb has kept in touch with Sarah over the years and "without exception it was the highlight of my career when I called to let her know we had found her mother's killer," he said. "The next time I saw her she greeted me with a hug, and has ever since."

Grzyb said Sarah is the real heroine in the case.

"She is truly a remarkable young woman who I hold in the highest regard. She was only 12 when her mother was killed. She lay in her bed and listened as her mother was raped and butchered. She found the strength and courage that night to flee her home in the pitch black of night and ran nearly a mile down the road, in the rain, in bare feet, and wearing nothing but her light pajamas to get help," said Grzyb.

Sarah went on to become salutatorian of her high school class and then graduated from Davidson College in North Carolina. She now works for the University of North Carolina. "I have a tremendous amount of respect for her and her ability to persevere through this horrific event. She's my hero," said Grzyb.

Grzyb, an 18-year State Police veteran, was promoted to sergeant in 2000 and until recently supervised a team of homicide investigators. In September 2007 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant and now serves as the Commanding Officer of Troop B.

Tru-TV was in Bridgton for five days in August 2007 to interview Gryzb about the Hutchinson investigation, which was later broadcast on the show "Suburban Secrets."

Grzyb is married and has two children. His brother Phil lives in Princeton as does his best friend, John Lee. Walter's mother, still lives in the house on Leominster Road where he grew up. His sister, Lara, and her husband live in Fitchburg.

"I don't get down nearly as much as I'd like but I do come down several times a year," said Grzyb.

Hutchinson has never admitted to the murder and to date has not appealed his sentence.